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Toreros Fall to Seton Hall, 69-55

SOUTH ORANGE, N.J. -Amber Sprague recorded a double-double with 17 points and 11 rebounds, but it wasn't enough as the University of San Diego women's basketball team fell to Seton Hall University, 69-55, in the championship game of the Seton Hall Classic.

Sprague led the team with her 17 points on 8-for-15 shooting from the floor and pulled down a team-best 11 rebounds. Amanda Rego followed up her triple double from Friday with a 14 point and eight assist performance. As a team, the Toreros were out rebounded 69-55 and shot 32 percent from the floor.

With the game even at nine in the early going, Rhodin hit a three-pointer to give the Pirates (4-0) the lead with 11:08 to play in the first half. Back-to-back lay-ups by Noteisha Womack and Amber Harris gave SHU its biggest lead of the opening period at 19-13, and the Pirates later matched that advantage when an Ebonie Williams jumper made it 21-15 with 7:32 left.

The Toreros (2-2) stormed back with a 7-0 run, capped off by a 3-point play from Rego, to take a one-point lead. SHU stemmed the tide with a Harris bucket and two free throws by sophomore guard Shantel Brown that made it 25-22 in favor of the Hall, but five different San Diego players scored as part of a 12-0 run to close the half that gave the Toreros a 34-25 edge at intermission. The USD run was sparked on a 3-point basket by Rego and was capped on a Kaila Mangrum jumper.

Kiva Herman's lay-in out of halftime extended the Toreros' spurt to 14 unanswered before Harris converted an offense rebound into a basket to bring the Pirates back to within nine. Rhodin dropped in another triple minutes later to cut the lead to six, but Sprague answered with a old-fashioned 3-point play to make it 42-33 with 15:51 remaining.

Harris and Rhodin again came up with a field goal and 3-pointer, respectively, to cut the deficit to 44-40 with 12:14 to go. With the Pirates later trailing by six, a Mukosiej jumper sparked a 12-0 run over a span of three minutes and 28 seconds that saw SHU reclaim the lead at 56-50 with 3:57 left. Herman hit 1-of-2 free throws for San Diego to end the drought, but Mukosiej answered with her second straight fadeway jumper from the left block to give the Hall a seven-point lead.

Brown followed with a 3-point bucket that made it 61-51 with 2:55 to play. The Toreros got no closer than eight the remainder of the way.

USD will return to the friendly confines of the Jenny Craig Pavilion on Friday as they host Southern Utah University in a 7 p.m. non-conference game.